The Carolina Panthers are being predicted to make a very aggressive offseason move.
The Carolina Panthers shocked the NFL world this season by winning the NFC South division title and even giving the Los Angeles Rams a scare in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.
But in spite of that, the Panthers still went just 8-9, indicating that changes are obviously needed for the long-suffering franchise.
While determining whether or not Bryce Young is actually the long-term answer under center is the most important order of business for Carolina, the team also needs to ensure that it fills some other obvious areas of need.
One of the Panthers' most glaring issues is their pass rush, as they totaled just 30 sacks this season. That was even less than last year when Carolina finished with 32.
The Panthers will absolutely need to address that this offseason, and ESPN's Aaron Schatz is projecting Carolina to strike big with a rather shocking move in that department.
"The Panthers will pay big money to Trey Hendrickson," Schatz wrote. "The Panthers ranked 24th in pass rush win rate this season, and while they took two edge rushers high in the 2025 draft (Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen), they could use a steady veteran to lead the attack."
Trey Hendrickson. Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images.Scourton and Derrick Brown posted five sacks apiece to lead the team this season, which is definitely unacceptable. Hendrickson would change that, though.
While Hendrickson played just seven games with the Cincinnati Bengals due to injuries in 2025, managing four sacks, he registered 17.5 sacks in back-to-back campaigns the two years prior, finishing second in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2024.
In fact, before this year, Hendrickson had racked up 70.5 sacks between 2020 and 2024. Only T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett accumulated more than Hendrickson throughout that span.
The only concern with Hendrickson is his age.
The Florida Atlantic product just turned 31 years old, and with Hendrickson spending the last two-plus months of 2025 on injured reserve and undergoing core muscle surgery, you do have to wonder if the four-time Pro Bowler is headed for a decline.
Carolina is slated to have a decent chunk of cap room this offseason, so while it can certainly afford Hendrickson, there is definitely significant risk involved. That's especially considering the former third-round pick is expected to land around $25-30 million annually.